A three-story building under construction has collapsed in the port city of Taganrog, killing at least five people and wounding twelve. Nine people are still missing, RIA Novosti reports, quoting the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

"Fourteen people have been pulled out of the rubble; five of them have died," the Ministry says. "Up to nine people may remain in the debris."

Twelve people have been taken to hospital; according to the local Health Ministry; condition of seven of them is serious to critical.

Around 30 construction workers, some of them foreigners, were reportedly at the scene when the building crumbled. Some of the workers were evacuated in the wake of the incident.

Up to 300 people are working at the scene searching for those missing and removing the debris.

The cause of the collapse remains unclear, but local authorities suspect errors in construction. The construction cite is reported to belong to a local investor who was planning to build a small-sized appartment house.

A criminal case has been opened into the deaths, citing charges of security violations at construction sites which lead to deaths of two or more people. Police are also checking if migrants working at the site have job permits and visas.

Taganrog is a port city of over 250,000 people on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov.